School janitor who stalked student gets jail

John Simak is shown leaving district court in Nazareth in July. (Jane Therese/Morning Call…)

April 15, 2011|By Riley Yates, OF THE MORNING CALL

A former Nazareth Catholic school janitor who repeatedly tried to spark a "romantic relationship" with a 14-year-old student will serve three to 23 months in Northampton County Prison.

"I have a child this age that attended a Catholic school such as this one," Judge Emil Giordano told John Simak, adding: "Our children need to be safe when they go to school."

Simak, 68, of Bushkill Township was working at Holy Family School on N. Convent Avenue when he began to try to start a "romantic relationship" with the girl, police said. He told her he was in love and wanted to kiss her, would stand very close to her and block her path in the halls, and even wrote her a love note, according to court records.

Simak, who was fired from the school, was charged last year. He admitted in March to misdemeanor charges of stalking and attempted corruption of minors.

At Friday's sentencing, the girl's mother said that while other eighth-graders were enjoying their coming graduation, her daughter was meeting with police. The girl still has trouble dealing with what happened, and distrusts adults, especially older ones, her mother said.

That was contrasted with glowing words of Simak presented by defense attorney Philip Lauer and the defendant's family. They spoke of Simak as a good father to four girls who coached girls softball and was a role model.

Lauer said Simak got into treatment as soon as he could and isn't a danger of offending again. Lauer asked for probation, which fell within standard sentencing guidelines.

"This is an elderly man who became infatuated with a young girl," Lauer said. "It's wrong and he knows it's wrong…. But it's also understandable."

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Broscius said the good things about Simak shouldn't overshadow the crime he committed.

"I'm a parent. You're a parent," she told Giordano. "Put yourself in the shoes of this mom and dad."

Under Giordano's sentence, Simak will be on probation for five years after he completes his jail time. Simak can have no unsupervised contact with minors, must continue sex offender treatment, and cannot go to schools or children's sporting events.